The Mad Hatter and the She-Bear
by LostSparrow
Summary: Even though he didn't have his Grace, Jefferson was not entirely alone. There was one person who stayed with him, his loyal gardener named Fiona. She, like everyone else in Stroybrooke, has no memories of her previous life and despite having to be on the receiving end of Jefferson's rudeness and anger, she will never leave him. (Jefferson x O.C)
1. Chapter 1

Out of all the residents in Storybroooke, Jefferson's curse was the worst. Not only was he sent to Storybrooke, but he still had all his memories. He remembered who he was, his Grace and their old home, everything. Every second of the day he's forced to remember Grace and the life he lost, as well as having this new life imprinted in his brain. It's like two lives that are battling for dominance in his mind.

He's sitting in his living room with a cup of tea in his hand, but his mind is far too troubled to focus on his tea. He's thinking about the tea parties he used to have with Grace and the force of the memory is causing him to tremble. His hand is shaking so violently that it causes the hot tea to slosh out and burn his skin. Soon the memory become too much for him to handle and with a loud scream he throws the delicate china cup at the wall, causing it to shatter and stain the wall with the brown liquid it was holding.

Almost immediately he hears hurried footsteps and a moment later the owner of the footsteps, a girl named Fiona, comes stumbling to a stop at the door. She's always been a clumsy girl.

"Are you alright? I heard you scream." she says, her voice set in a worried tone. Of course she's worried, she's always worried.

"I'm fine." he snaps at her. He has yet to move off the couch to clean up the mess he caused but he finds that she has already beaten him to it. She quickly grabs a small towel from the kitchen then begins wiping away the tea from the wall.

"Why did you get upset?" she asks him quietly. She's finished wiping away the tea and is now gathering the broken china pieces into the towel.

"For the same reason I do every other time." he says angrily and stands, kicking some stray pillows out of his way while he goes to the kitchen. Fiona follows after him and tosses the broken pieces of china in the garbage. He looks out the window and sees that his garden is looking as pristine and perfect as always which means her job is done for the day. He glances back at the girl who was, as always, covered in dirt. Her jeans were even ripped from the thorns on the rose bushes.

"You're done for the day. You can leave now." he says and snatches the towel out of her grubby hands. She looks at the floor as red fills her cheeks.

"I just wanted to help you..." she says softly.

Jefferson feels momentarily guilty for treating her so harshly, but then his guilt is dissolved when he remembers just how horrible his life is now. He'd even take Wonderland over this!

"I thank you for it but that's not your job, is it? So you can leave now," he says angrily. She hesitates and Jefferson's anger explodes. "Leave now!" he shouts at her. The girl jumps and practically runs away from him and a moment later he hears the door slam.

Jefferson wanders back to his couch and collapses on to the couch. Grace won't be home for another hour so he simply curls up and closes his eyes; allowing the memories of his past life to take over his mind.

* * *

_Today; the memories are about Fiona._

_In Storybrooke, she works as Jefferson's personal gardener, due to the fact he has an enormous garden in the back of his mansion. She spends most of her time in the garden because it takes her hours to go through the entire thing. It doesn't bother her though because she often prefers the being in nature compared to being trapped indoors. Jefferson blames that on her other life, back home in their own world. Back home her true name was not Fiona, it was Preziosa. She was a princess of a small land. Jefferson had heard rumors about her family. He had heard that her mother, the queen, was a kind and beautiful woman who was fair to her subjects. The king, however, was supposedly mean, ugly and insane. One day to everyone's dismay, the queen died and the deranged king decided to marry Preziosa, his own daughter because he deemed her to be the only woman who could match his deceased wife's beauty. _

_So the terrified Preziosa ran away from her home. _

_Her father sent his soldiers to bring her back but before they could find her, Preizosa found an elderly woman who gave her a piece of wood. She encouraged Preziosa to bite the wood because it would save her. So she did and found herself to be turned into a bear. An actual bear. The elderly woman who had given her the stick was actually an enchantress. So Preziosa escaped her father, but one day she was captured by a strange, cruel man and she was far too gentle to fight back and the man sold her to a gypsy. Of course she was still in bear from at the time because she was frightened that if she were to turn back into a human, she'd be brought back to her father. So the gypsy would bring her to different fairs and markets and she would carry children around on her back, like she was a horse instead of a bear. _

_It was at a market that Jefferson himself first met the she-bear. He found it odd that a bear would be gentle enough to allow children to ride on its back, and he also found it odd that the bear carried a piece of wood in its mouth. However he had greater matters on his mind with Grace and selling mushrooms to give the subject too much thought. _

_The sky was just beginning to turn dark when Jefferson and Grace pack up and begin to head home for the day. As they were leaving, Grace grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to a stop. She was looking at the bear, who was chained to a post while the gypsy went to the tavern to drink her problems away. _

_"Papa, that bear is trapped..." she says quietly. _

_"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it. Sorry, love." he says as he scoops up the little girl. As gentle as the bear may have seemed before, there's not telling what it would do to a little girl like Grace and there was no way he would ever put her in any sort of danger. So he carries her home, and soon the bear has completely been erased from his mind. _

_When they return to the market a few days later, the bear is nowhere to be seen. But on their way home through the woods, Grace points out something very unusual. _

_"Papa, look!" she whispers excitedly and points to the river. There sits a young woman with long, dark hair. She has water cupped in her raised hands and she lets it trickle over her hair and she messages it in with her fingers. Sitting beside her is a piece of wood with teeth marks in it. It's then that Grace steps on a stick, causing it to snap. The girl jumps and looks at them, her eyes wild with fright. She grabs the piece of wood and jumps in the river, running through the water quickly to get to the other side. Grace begins running after her before Jefferson could grab her. By the time they reach the riverbank, the girl is gone. In her place is a black bear._

* * *

Jefferson hadn't expected Fiona to come back the next day. But she did. She arrived around 10am, with a few scones from Granny's in a paper bag. He was gazing through his telescope when he heard her knock. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole and is rather surprised to see the familiar dark-haired girl. He opens the door and she immediately thrusts the paper bag into his hands.

"Don't yell at me again please," she says quietly as she shoves the bag harder against his hands. He chews on his bottom lip and he knows he should apologize for his outburst yesterday.

"I won't... I, ugh, I'm sorry for yesterday-"

"It's fine. I'm heading to the back, enjoy your scones. I also got you strawberry jam, I know you like it." she says and quickly makes her way to the back of the house. He opens the bag and glances in. She did get strawberry jam. He forgot she knew he liked it.

He makes his way back to the kitchen and flicks on the kettle while he grabs a place. Grace has already left for school two hours ago, so he had another long day of waiting for her to come home.

While he spreads the jam over his scone, he glances out the large window and sees Fiona kneeling amongst the rose bushes. He takes in her appearance; ratty blue jeans, a large oversized and stained grey shirt and black sneakers that look like they're about to come apart at the seams. Her wild hair is pulled into an attempt at a braid, but he knows it'll come apart soon. That's one of the things he's noticed about her is that her hair simply cannot hold in a braid.

The loud whistling of the kettle soon fills the air, so he collects a bag of tea and plops it into the pot and then fills it with boiling water. While he waits for it to steep, he munches on his scones. They're good, still warm and the jam practically melts over them. However, a sudden memory hits him so hard that the scone falls from his now shaking hand. He remembers eating strawberries with Grace when she was small, and her little mouth would get covered in the red juice. She'd look up at him with her brown eyes sparkling and her mouth set in a grin. How he loved it when she did that.

A sudden rumble of thunder causes him to once again come painfully back to reality. His eyes travel back to the window and he sees a few drops of rain- but then with another loud rumble of thunder a downpour erupts.

"Shit," he mutters. He stands and collects his plate and drops it into the sink and begins to pour his tea. The rain makes it difficult to see Grace through the telescope, which bothers him immensely. He hopes she brought her rain coat to school.

He pours himself some tea before settling in his favorite chair with a book. His mansion came with a fully stocked bookshelf, but they were all from this world and were strange and unfamiliar to him. He can't afford to complain because he knows he has no other option for entertainment, so he grabs a book by the name of the "Princess Bride" and sits down, preparing to waste away several hours before his Grace come home.

It is about two hours later when he finally tears his eyes away from the pages. His teacup has long since been drained and he finds himself craving some more. He stands and stretches his sore muscles, frowning when he hears cracks coming from his elbows and knees. He grabs his tea-cup and heads to the kitchen and turns on the burner so the teapot will begin to heat up.

He looks out the window and finds that it is still raining out. He notices that the delicate flowers in his garden are beginning to bend under the weight of the water on their petals.

It's only then does he remember Fiona, who was in the garden. He looks back up and doesn't see her beside the rose bushes so he can only guess that she has run to the shed. He could let her stay there... But he knows the shed leaks and she's already been out there for a long time. So he grabs an umbrella and makes his way outside. He walks through the wet grass, shivering as the moisture makes it's way through his shoes. He finally reaches the shed and pushes the door open and finds his suspicions to be confirmed. Fiona sits huddled on an old work bench with her arms shoved inside her large shirt. She looks up at him with a look of pure surprise. He rolls his eyes.

"Stop staring at me and come here," he sighs. The girl jumps up and quickly goes to him, huddling her shaking body against his. He doesn't offer much body warmth but it's better than nothing. The two begin walking back to the mansion silently with Fiona still pressed to Jefferson's side.

Once they get back inside, Jefferson instructs Fiona to make herself some tea while he gets blankets from the upstairs bedroom. He grabs a fluffy quilt and makes his way back downstairs.

"Come to the living room," he calls out as he reaches the end of the stairs. He makes his way to the room, grabs his book and flops on the couch. The cushions let out a whistle of air as his weight settles on to them. Fiona enters a moment later, with two cups of tea in her hands. She makes her way to the couch and carefully sets the tea on the coffee table before settling on to the couch herself. He tosses the quilt over her tiny frame and she pulls it close, relishing the immediate heat.

"Thank you," she says quietly, peering at him from over the quilt.

"You're welcome." he answers and grabs his tea. He takes a long sip and the liquid warms his body. She reaches forward and takes her tea in her hands, letting the heat of the cup warm her chilled hands.

"Why are you being so kind today?" she asks him but immediately looks regretful and opens her mouth to apologize, but Jefferson raises his hand as a sign to stop.

"Do you normally think I'm mean?" he asks her.

"Not mean... Just... Annoyed. Sad maybe. I think you're a lot of things," she admits.

Jefferson turns and fully looks at his gardener, who's now practically hidden under the quilt. Some of the residents of Storybrooke have become completely different people than who they were. Some of them have become meaner, others kinder and others quieter. But she has stayed the same. She's still Preziosa, the frightened she-bear who is too gentle and too quiet for her own good.

"Are you mad at me?" she asks him quietly.

"No. Now no more questions or I'll put you back into the shed," he replies. Fiona closes her mouth tightly and looks away from him. Jefferson lets out a small sigh and grabs his book, using it as a shield to hide his face from her.

Jefferson can't deny the fact that she's right, he's not kind to her, at least not often. Jefferson can't exactly explain why he's often rude and cruel to Fiona. Perhaps it's because he finds her childlike innocence too much like Grace. Perhaps it's because he hates that she can't remember who she really is, so it's a constant reminder that he's alone in this world. Or maybe it's because he's too scared to allow himself to care for another person other than Grace. He only allowed himself to do that once, with Grace's mother. And what happened with that woman left him feeling broken and unwanted. He doesn't want to feel like that ever again. So he will only allow himself to care about Grace and no one else.

Or at least, that's what he's going to try to do.

_**Hi readers :) tell me if you like this! I may continue it if you guys like it :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hi guys :) so I've decided to write this chapter! Now, just warning you, this chapter deals with adult subject matter. Nothing is graphically described but rape and beating is mentioned. Now enough of me talking, please enjoy reading! _**

Jefferson's eyes slowly open, the pain of his headache making him immediately regretting his decision. He feels gross, his skin feels so hot and his head feels like someone is pounding on it with an iron hammer. He wonders how he managed to get so sick, then he remembers the night of drinking he had. He looks down to see the now empty bottle of Scotch and the reason of his illness becomes abundantly clear: a brutal hangover. He glances at the alarm clock beside his bed and the red numbers make him lurch out of bed. It's 11:42am, well past 8am, when Grace usually gets the bus. He's always up to see her, everyday, but today he slept through it. How the hell could he do that!?

He groans and buries his face into the pillow. He drank last night because he felt like shit, per usual, and he found a bottle of alcohol in one of the cupboards. So he drank himself into oblivion and found that it worked. He passed out and for a few blessed hours, he was able to slip away and dream about a time when he was happy back in his home in his real life. But then it came to an end when he woke up, as it always did.

There's no point in getting up now so he might as well just stay in bed for the rest of the day. However, soon the need for water and food drive him from his soft bed and down to the kitchen. He almost tumbles down the stairs in the process, the splitting headache making him shaky. He finally reaches the kitchen, surprisingly unscathed, and turns on the kettle. He then fills up a glass of water and raises it to his lips, letting the cold liquid sooth the hot skin on his lips. He swallows almost half the glass in hopes it would rid himself of this headache. Steam is begging to rise from the kettle and he can hear the water bubble as it heats up. He grabs a cup from the cupboard and places it on the counter, throwing a tea bag in as well. While he waits for the kettle to finish boiling, he grabs an apple from the fridge and takes a big bite out of it. It's old now and has that woody taste, but he remembers how he would worry about where Grace's next meal would come from, so he gladly eats the apple. The kettle begins whistling and Jefferson pours his tea, hoping this would help his headache because the water seems to be doing no good.

As he sips the steaming drink, he scans the backyard looking for Fiona. He hasn't heard any signs of her and he doesn't see her anywhere. That's very unusual. She's never ever missed a day of work, even when she's been sick and looked to be on deaths doorstep. She's never missed a day.

He goes to the porch and slides on his shoes and goes outside. It's nice today, not too hot and not too cold, but the sunlight immediately makes his hand fly to cover his eyes.

"Fuck," he mutters to himself as he trudges through the expansive yard in search of his gardener. Normally, he would never use such language but his hangover is getting the better of him.

He searches through his entire garden and in the shed, which takes him well over an hour, but no sign of her anywhere. He's not exactly worried, but he's definitely surprised that she didn't show up. She lives in a little house not too far up the road... He could go up and check on her. It would waste away the rest of the day until Grace gets home. So he draws his jacket a little tighter around his body, he was still in his clothes from yesterday but it didn't really bother him, and made his way back to the front of the house and up the path. He walks as quickly as he can and it doesn't take him long to reach the cottage. Her yard is covered in flowers of all different shapes and colors. He sees roses, phlox, lilacs and Butterfly bushes and other things he doesn't know the name of. Her yard is beautiful and bright with all the plants inhabiting it. He walks through them, careful not to step on anything. He reaches the door and knocks once. He hears the shuffle of feet and the door opens, but only a crack. The only thing he can see belonging to Fiona is a quarter of her face.

"Oh, hi... I'm sorry I didn't come in today. I'm not feeling well," she says quietly. Her voice sounds coarse, like she's been crying. He raises and eyebrow and tries his best to examine her from the bit he can see, but she soon hides even that behind the door.

"What's wrong?" he asks her. He looks suspicious and his hand is resting over the doorknob, as if he plans to push it open. She presses more of her weight against the door, hoping to keep him out.

"Nothing is wrong," she answers him and begins to close the door, but his hand quickly slams against it and she stumbles back.

"Don't lie to me. Let me in right now," he snaps.

"No! Go away please!" she cries and throws her weight against the door in attempt to close it, but he's a hell of a lot stronger than she is and she stands no chance against him.

"Fiona... Please, let me help." he sighs. Fiona stops pushing against the door and she finds her whole body shaking. She knows how mean he can be, but maybe he's actually becoming kinder. She steps back, allowing the door to swing open. Jefferson steps in and examines the small woman. He notices something that definitely looks off... But he can't be sure what it is because she's in a shadow.

"Step into the light," he instructs. She swallows hard before eventually walking towards a window where the sunlight is streaming in. The light reveals something that makes Jefferson cringe; her body is covered in bruises. Her lip is split, her right eye is completely swollen and the skin has turned black. Another cut is on her cheek and a dark blue bruise lies under it. Her shirt has fallen down her shoulder which has revealed multiple bruises. She has her left leg bent and her ankle looks to be swollen, possibly sprained.

"Who did this to you?" he snarls as he walks towards her. She immediately jumps back, pressing herself into a corner. She looks terrified of him. He comes to a halt at the sight of her.

"I... I fell," she says quietly.

"I don't believe you-"

"I fall all the time! You see me do it!" she cries.

"Calm down, Fiona. Those bruises are made by hands and those cuts on your face is by a ring. Believe me I've seen things like this before, don't try to lie to me and tell me otherwise." he says softly. Fiona's trembling and has her arms crossed over her chest and more tears are making their way down her cheeks.

"How did you know that someone did this?" she asks him, looking up at him with watery eyes.

Jefferson chews on his bottom lip because he can't give her a legitimate answer. Back in his real home, before he had Grace, he had a bit of a rough life. Of course he had his hat, but sometimes he would wind up at some bar and he had seen more than one brutal bar fight. And that's how he came to know bruises. Sometimes he'd even get them on his own body after he would get in a fight with some drunken idiot. But he can't possibly tell that to Fiona because she still has no recollection of that past life, so he says the first thing that pops into his head. "My brother used to fight a lot."

Her eyebrows pop up. "I didn't know you had a brother," she says. Jefferson didn't lie, he did have a brother but he died when he was only 14 because he fell into a well and drowned. It's not something he tells a lot of people.

"I don't talk about him much. But now's not the time for that. This man, did he only beat you or did he...?" Jefferson trails off, not wanting to say the word. Rape is a harsh, ugly word that he doesn't like to associate with. But Fiona's physical response gives him a clear answer... Yes. Her head snaps sideways, her hand flies to cover her mouth and more tears soon stream down her face and her body begins shaking again. Jefferson groans and rubs his face with his hands.

"Shit, Fiona..." he mutters.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't want to at all but I was on my way home yesterday and he just came out of nowhere and I-"

"Shh, it's ok. I know you didn't want it. Believe me that much was clear. But why didn't you come to me?" he asks her.

"I didn't think you'd care..." she says quietly, looking up at him with now bloodshot eyes. Jefferson feels a sudden guilt upon hearing her words.

"I do care. You must think I'm a monster," he says quietly. Fiona quickly shakes her head which causes even more tears to fall.

"No I don't! I swear, it's just-"

Jefferson holds up his hand and she stops talking. He doesn't look angry or mad, he actually looks understanding. "I'm not exactly a nice guy, I know that. But l can't have you stay here by yourself, not with some creep around here. Pack somethings and you can come stay at my house until... You feel better. Maybe we should go the police though-"

"No! Please no! I don't want anyone to know!" she screams at him.

"You might be sick-"

"Please! Please don't make me go there... I don't want them to see me like this." she tells him. The girl looks so miserable that Jefferson doesn't have the heart to argue. So he simply nods and sends the girl to pack her things. While she does that, he wanders around her house. It's simple, with no large or fancy furnishings. A few paintings of flowers and trees with some small woodland creatures. It's starting to make him uncomfortable how much this girl likes the wood.

"What are you doing?"

Her sudden voice makes him jump and almost tumble over the coffee table. Fiona's lips break into a smile, which he's glad to see even if he was the reason for it. He straightens himself up and nods.

"You ready?" he asks.

"I guess as ready as I can be considering the situation," she responds. He goes to the door and opens it, waiting for her to follow. They walk in silence down the path and along the road, but he can see her growing increasingly anxious as they walk. He can only guess it's because of what happened. She looks like she's about to burst into tears all over again, so Jefferson does the only thing he can think of; quickly wrap his left arm around her shoulders and pull her close. She's caught off guard at the sudden contact and stumbles into his side.

"It's ok, Fiona. You're not alone this time." he says softly. She's still shaking but she breathes in and out slowly and nods.

It doesn't take them to far to get back to the house. Once their, Jefferson takes her to the room she can stay in. It's on the top floor and it has dark purple walls, with a large bed with pale blue sheets. There's a chair and a bookcase, along with a small bathroom attached to it. Fiona hesitantly walks into it, letting her hand run across the silk of the sheets.

"Is this okay?" Jefferson asks her.

"It's perfect, thank you." she replies.

Jefferson stands there rather awkwardly for a moment before he finally speaks again. "Well, I'm going to go make some lunch. You can get settled and don't bother with the garden today, it can survive for one day." he tells her and then quickly leaves. Partially due to the awkwardness but also because he is now once again fully aware of his headache, which hadn't really left him but the shock of the events had managed to make him forget about it for a while. But now it has hit him like a brick wall and he runs down to the kitchen for more water and maybe some sort of pill he could take to get rid of this damn pain.

Once in the kitchen he downs another glass of water along with some red pill called "Advil". Hopefully that does the trick. He begins rummaging through his fridge for some sort of food. He finds eggs, and settles for scrambled eggs and toast. He's never been a creative cook.

Once the eggs have been scrambled, the toast buttered and the tea has steeped, he takes a plate back up for Fiona. But as he nears her room, he hears more sobbing. Shit, maybe this is more than he bargained for. He uses his elbow to knock on the door and the sobs immediately stop. The door opens a moment later and Jefferson walks in. Fiona's hair is wet and she's wearing an enormous grey sweater and large black pants. She's still shaking.

"I'm sorry you heard me," she says quietly.

"You've been through a traumatic event. You have every reason to cry." he tells her as he lays the plate of food and cup of tea on the side table. Fiona has taken a seat on the bed and has her arms wrapped around her legs and her long hair is covering her body. He can see the droplets of water from her hair that now stain her sweater, causing icy shivers to ripple through her.

"Why did this happen to me...?" she says, so quietly he barely heard her. Before he responds, he gets up and takes a spare blanket from the closet and drapes it over her small frame. Then he takes his fingers and uses them to tilt her chin upwards so she's looking him in the eyes when he answers her.

"Not all fairy tales are good and the same goes for life, kid. It's not all butterflies and rainbows."


	3. Chapter 3

It's been a week and a half since Fiona had moved into his mansion. The bruises are starting to fade, her lip is starting to scab and her eye isn't so swollen anymore. Jefferson knows that, despite the physical evidence is disappearing, the emotional damage is still catastrophic. She cries... A lot. He'll see her in the garden and she'll suddenly stop what she's doing and her hand will fly to her mouth and he will see her shoulders begin to tremble. He debates going out and trying to talk with her but sometimes he wonders if male companionship is really the best thing for her at the moment. Sometimes, when they'll both be inside after the long day, he'll accidentally brush up against her hip and she'll jump about five feet in the air. However, the worst are the nightmares she has. It's usually around 2am and he can hear a small scream than muffled sobs. It's getting really bad.

"Maybe you should go talk to someone," he suggests as she places a cup of tea in front of him. She quickly scurries back to the kitchen, shaking her head vigorously.

"I don't want anyone else to know. Please, Jefferson." she begs and looks at him, her eyes mimicking her begs. Jefferson can only sigh and run his hands through his hair. He then stands and begins walking to his telescope.

"Fine. Do whatever you want, Fiona. But this isn't healthy." he says. She doesn't answer him and instead quickly runs into the backyard. He hears the door slam.

He looks into the telescope and sees Grace walking out of her house. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's giggling at something her "father" has said to her. Jefferson feels his anger rise. It should be him making her laugh. Soon Grace boards her bus, waving a final time to the man who was waiting on the sidewalk. He goes back into his house and Grace is driven away to school for the long six hours.

Jefferson sighs and flops down on the couch. Another long day of doing nothing while he waits for Grace to come back home.

He has finished _The Princess Bride _and has moved on to something called _Harry Potter_. This has magic in it, which he obviously approves of. He's on page 30 when he hears a scream. This is a different sounding scream. It's not the one she makes when she's snapped out of a nightmare. This is a generally terrified, blood curdling scream. The book falls to the ground as he sprints out of the living room, through the kitchen and then throws himself out the door. That's when he sees her, curled up in the cold grass and the disgusting looking man on top of her. He has a fistful of her long hair and his mouth glued to her ear. Jefferson finds himself beside them in a second, the mans collar in his hand and he feels himself toss the man like a rag doll. He lands with a groan and Jefferson can smell the alcohol off him.

Fiona has stopped crying. And now she has her shovel in her hands. It almost happens in slow motion and Jefferson tires to grab her arm, but he is just a second too late. She raises the shovel and brings it down so hard on the mans head that Jefferson hears a crack and soon blood seeps from his hairline.

Jefferson is frozen at the sight of the innocent girl bashing the mans head with shovel. She gets one more hit in before Jefferson comes to his senses and grabs her arms, knocking the shovel out of her grasp. She looks at him with her angry bloodshot eyes and yells at him.

"No! Let me-"

"If you do this, you're throwing your life away! You'll get caught and not him! Fiona, it isn't worth it," he says calmly, trying his best to soothe the furious girl. But she is far from calm.

"He hurt me!" she screams at him.

"Hurting him back won't make it any better. Believe me, I know. If you do this you will regret it forever." he says. She stops struggling and begins trembling. No tears come out. There are no more tears left to shed.

"Go inside, I'll take care of him." he says softly. She nods and staggers inside. He looks back at the man, and suddenly something dawns on him that makes him sick to his stomach. The man is Fiona, well technically Preziosa's, father. The insane King who wanted to marry his own daughter.

The man groans and pushes himself up. One of his eyes is squeezed shut, probably from Fiona's shovel. He sees Jefferson and immediately crawls backwards, pure fear in his eyes.

"Get up." Jefferson snarls at the man.

He does as instructed and scrambles to his feet. Jefferson nudges his back with the shovel, making him walk towards the woods behind the mansion's garden. They walk for a good half an hour before Jefferson tugs the man to a stop. There's a layer of filth and dirt on his jacket.

"Don't you ever come back here again," Jefferson says, his voice was so low and cold that the man shudders. He gives the man a final shove before turning around and beginning to walk back.

"She enjoyed it, you know!" the man shouts. Jefferson comes to a stop and glances back.

"What did you say?" Jefferson snarls.

"She enjoyed it. She's a little whore. And I'll my way with her again. I'll have my way with all the girls here. Even the little ones. Do you know what I did to that girl, huh? Do you? I can tell you. And I can assure you that she loved it-"

The man doesn't finish his sentence. Jefferson has swung around, bring his shovel with it. It hits the deranged man in the head and he slumps to the ground. Jefferson bashes his head in, completely ignoring the advice he had given to Fiona a mere hour before. When this disgusting piece of filth started talking about young girls, Jefferson was seeing red. When the thought about this scum touching Grace, he's thrown over the edge.

When he eventually stops beating the man, the shovel is covered with blood and the deranged king is no more.

* * *

He stumbles back to his house. He's covered in blood and he knows he'll have to explain this to Fiona. He buried the body and has plans to destroy the shovel before anyone else can ever find it.

He finally returns to his house and finds Fiona waiting in the kitchen for him. She gasps and nearly tumbles off the counter when she sees him. She shakes her head and covers her eyes with her hands.

"You told me-"

"Forget what I told you. He said things to me that would've made you throw up. The world is better off without that piece of shit in it." he snaps. She suddenly jumps off the counter and slaps him so hard he stumbles.

"What the hell was that for?!" he shouts at her.

"This was my responsibility! This was my problem! You didn't have anything to do with it! I should have been the one to do that to him! Why didn't you just let me do it!?" she screams at him. Jefferson grabs her arms and pins them to the counter, staring at her with a vicious look on his face.

"I didn't let you do it because you're too good. You're innocent and pure but I'm not. If you had killed him, you wouldn't have been able to live with yourself. But I'm not good and certainly not pure! So I could do this for you. You should be thanking me, not hitting me." he snaps. She sinks to the floor and puts her head on her knees. More bruises are forming on her arms.

"You shouldn't have done that for me, Jefferson." she says softly.

"Well it's done now. And don't ever hit me again," he says and then quickly walks out of the kitchen. He makes his way up the washroom and quickly turns on the shower. He rips off his soiled clothing and throws them into a heap on the floor. He steps into the scalding shower and rubs his face vigorously, wiping off the blood that had splattered across his cheeks. He looks at the drain and sees the red swirling around before being sucked into the black circle. He groans and leans forwards, resting his head against the glass panel as the realization of his actions hit him.

He's just killed someone.


	4. Chapter 4

When Jefferson eventually crawls out of the shower, it's nearly two hours later. His skin is raw and tingling, but he barely notices. After a while the hot water ran out and he was left standing under icy jets of cold water. But even that didn't drive him from the shower for another half an hour after the water turned to ice.

He wraps a towel around his waist and makes his way to his large bedroom. The red blankets of his bed are strewn every which way, half of them tumble off the bed and on to the floor. He still had the blinds closed and his dark burgundy walls are only lit by a small lamp beside his bed. He sits on his bed and breathes in and out several times, trying to stay calm. He's never directly killed anyone before. He's never been like Regina or Rumpelstiltskin. They're monsters; he's not. He's not one of them-

Or he wasn't... Now he is. He's no better than them.

A hears a hesitant knock on the door, which shakes him out of his thoughts. He glances at the door, feeling annoyed. Fiona was the reason he killed the man... It's her fault-

No. No it's not. She didn't ask for that scum to rape her. She didn't ask for Jefferson to kill him. He knows he can't blame her anymore. So he decides to let her in.

"Come in," he says quietly. The door cracks open and Fiona peeks in, but immediately hides behind the door again when she sees that he's in nothing but a towel. He snorts and leans back.

"Don't like what you see?" he calls out.

"What? Um, no, wait I mean, um, I-"

"Oh Christ just come in," he snaps. The door opens and she steps in, her arms crossed across her chest. She looks at him and forces herself to smile.

"Thank you... For what you did. Maybe I can stop having nightmares now," she says, chuckling softly after she speaks. "And maybe I can go back to my house too."

"You don't have to go," Jefferson says softly. Fiona looks at him with a quizzical expression and red fills Jefferson's cheeks.

"Um, I just meant... Ok, neither of us really have any friends so it's basically just you and me, girl." he admits. Fiona smiles again, and it looks genuine.

"Thank you again. I'll go make dinner," she tells him. She turns to leave, but then she turns back around. Jefferson opens his mouth to ask her why she did such a thing, but then she walks towards him, leans down and presses her lips softly to his cheek. To say he was caught off guard is an understatement.

"Why did you do that?" he asks. He takes note that her lips are soft.

"I never kissed anyone before he..." she trails off and shudders at the memory. "I just wanted to know what it was like." she adds quietly, looking ashamed.

Jefferson looks at her, his brows drawn together. "You've never been with anyone before?" he asks.

She looks embarrassed and shakes her head and quickly runs out the door. Jefferson sighs and rubs his neck. He can clearly feel the bump of his scar. Once again he finds himself thinking about his old life, back home with Grace. He would do anything to be back in their little cottage with a small fire in the fireplace and her lovely laughter filling the small home.

He knows that if he thinks about this for any longer, he'll go insane or start screaming and breaking things. So he stands quickly, rubbing himself dry and then changing into loose-fitting grey pants and a soft black shirt. He runs the towel over his hair, letting it soak up the droplets of icy water.

He tosses the towel on the floor before making his way downstairs to the kitchen. He finds Fiona by the stove. She's making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. She glances at him quickly but then returns her full attention back to the food.

"It'll be ready soon," she tells him.

"We can eat in the living room tonight. We can put on a movie too?" he suggests. She nods and smiles at him.

"That would be nice," she agrees.

He goes to the living room and looks through the expansive collection of DVDs that's harbored near the giant TV. He's never really bothered with watching the movies, because he's often been busy reading or trying to make his hats. He leans down and examines them, looking for something that catches his eye. And then he sees Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He plucks it out of the shelf and pops it into the machine.

Fiona joins him moments later with two plates in her hands. She hands him a plate, with a sandwich and a little bowl of soup balanced on it. He nods his thanks and begins eating as she settles on the couch beside him. As they watch the movie, he has to suppress his groans as the representation of Snow is totally butchered. Snow whistling while she works? Dear God.

The movie is half over when Fiona finishes eating and lays her plate on the coffee table. She seems interested by the movie, smiling at the little birds who flutter across the screen. Jefferson catches himself staring at his companion. He feels guilty that she has had no intimate contact with anyone besides that disgusting creature who defiled her. He sits up and, despite his better judgement, leans forward. This will either go over well or end up with him getting a porcelain plate smashed over his head.

"Is it true what you said?" he says. The sudden sound of his voice causes her to jolt.

"What?" she answers, looking at him with those big dark eyes.

"That you've never been with anyone?" he clarifies.

She chews on her bottom lip and nods, looking away. "That's why I kissed you," she says quietly.

"That wasn't a real kiss," he responds. His hand goes to her face and he turns her towards him. His lips are a mere inch away from hers. He looks in her eyes, trying to see if she was nervous, which was clearly obvious. "Would you like a real one?" he asks quietly.

And amazingly, she nods. So he leans forwards and his lips meet hers. When he was with Grace's mother, their kisses harsh, greedy and rough. However, with Fiona, the kiss is so gentle that he finds himself not wishing for the rough harshness of Grace's mothers lips. The kiss, for him, makes him forget he has killed someone and for her, it allows her to forget for one moment the cruelty she endured.

When they pull away from each other, Jefferson rests his forehead against hers.

"That was a real kiss."


	5. Chapter 5

_**Okay, so hi to my lovely readers :) thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter. On a completely random note, while I was writing this I was listening to Lily's theme from the Harry Potter soundtrack and oh man the tears were flowing so that may be why this chapter is a little more cheesy/fluffy than usual. Enjoy xo**_

Jefferson leans down and gazes into the telescope. He sees little Grace is happily jumping up and down because her fake parents have just gotten her a puppy. It looks more like a huge ball of fluff rather than an actual dog, but Grace seems to absolutely adore the thing. She's hugging it so tightly and it's licking her entire face. She's smiling and laughing so much that Jefferson begins to feel awful. Maybe she's better off with those people...

Anger begins to boil through his blood. His fist begins clenching and trembling, and he grabs the telescope and sends it flying to the other side of the room. He doesn't know if Fiona will hear him, frankly he doesn't give a damn if she does. After the kiss, she's barely spoken to him. Did it really fucking scare her so much that he did that?! His anger rises some more as he thinks about the girl ignoring him.

"Fuck!" he roars and begins throwing or punching anything he can get his hands on. Soon the living room is completely trashed. His hand slams into the intricate mirror, shattering the beautiful glass and slicing through his skin. Blood begins to flow freely from his hand but it doesn't stop him. He grabs the mirror and slams it on the floor, breaking any of the remaining glass. He's screaming and grabbing his hair, practically tearing it out of his scalp.

"Jefferson, what's wrong!?" Fiona shouts at him. He didn't even notice her come in.

"She's my child! Mine! She's not theirs! SHE BELONGS WITH ME!" He screams. The girl presses herself into the corner of the room, her dark eyes wild with fear of the crazed man before her. He's talking complete nonsense because he doesn't have a child, or at least she doesn't know he has one. She still can't remember anything of their life back in the Enchanted Forest.

"She's mine, mine, mine!" he screams to himself over and over. He rubs his hands against his face, completely forgetting he's bleeding. Blood is smeared across his pale face and Fiona gasps.

"Jefferson, stop please! You're scaring me!" she screams at him. He looks at her and snarls, his anger for her still strong. He walks towards her, ready to yell at her; to release all his anger at her. But Fiona will not allow herself to be hurt again. Her small fist balls up and she throws her arm back, and then punches him hard in the face. He stumbles and falls against the wall. His hand comes up to touch his jaw, where she had hit him. Luckily, the punch had made him snap out of his rage and now he just stares at the girl in front of him. She's not crying or trembling. She's standing straight and rigid, staring right back at him.

"I was hurt once. I won't be hurt again. Now do you want to tell me exactly what the hell is going on!?" she asks him.

Jefferson can't tell her what's going on because she doesn't remember anything from their old life. If he were to tell her something like this "Oh yeah I have a daughter but she was taken away from me by the bitch Evil queen who's now our mayor and you can actually turn into a bear too."He'd end up with another punch in the face. And despite her size, she has a pretty strong punch. So Jefferson does what he does best; lie.

"I'm sorry but I have these fits that make me go crazy for a bit. I didn't want to tell you before now. I'm just going to go-"

"Nope, you're not. Your hand is bleeding really badly and we need to get it bandaged." She says. She reaches forwards and grabs his sleeve and leads him to the bathroom. She first cleans the cut, then wraps a bandage around it before pinning it tightly. He nods a thanks before disappearing into his hat room, in hopes he could finally make something to take him home. He just wants to go home. Why can't he just go home...

"Jefferson?" a quiet voice asks from the doorway.

"What?" he snaps, not bothering to look at her.

"I'm going to go get coffee at Granny's. Would you like something?" she asks him, her voice still quiet and soft.

"You're just going to leave me, aren't you?" he says harshly. He's sure she's just going to run home and stay there, far away from him.

Fiona sighs deeply before answering. "No, Jefferson. I will never leave you." she says. Their tones are so different; his harsh and hers soft.

He finally glances over his shoulder and sees her. Her wild hair hangs it tangled waves down her back and her enormous grey shirt reaches her thighs. The bruises have disappeared and her skin is back to it's normal color. She's finally starting to look like she once did. He looks back at the hat in his hands before speaking to her once again.

"I'm not okay, Fiona." he whispers. For once he's finally telling her the truth. He's not okay at all. Tears begin to sting his eyes but he angrily blinks them away before they can make their way down his face. Fiona has walked up to him and she places one of her hands on his shoulder.

"That's something you and me have in common. And that's why I promise I won't leave at least not until you want me to." she replies.

"Please Not yet. Not yet," he says repeats. He has one hand on his forehead and his body is hunched. Truthfully, he has gotten used to the company she brings. The little things like sharing meals, talking about his favorite book or simply sitting in her company while she gardens. He's become to not only grow used to it; but come to enjoy it.

He swings off his stool so quickly that Fiona stumbles. And in another second he has his arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulls her into him. She's so small that her face is nestled into his chest, but neither of them care. Her arms wrap around his chest and he rests his chin on the top of her head and tightens his grip on her.

Maybe they're a lot more reliant on each other than they thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Jefferson sews the last seam of his newest hat. It's made of black felt and a large red ribbon. He takes a deep breath before laying it down on the glass table.

"Please work," he says softly before lifting the hat up and throwing it across the room, praying that a portal will open. The hat spins several times but then it just crashes to the ground.

Jefferson groans and leans back in his chair. He grabs his scissors and hurls them across the room and the managed to get them lodged into the mirror, which shatters and falls to the floor. Usually he'd destroy everything in sight but today he's trying to stay calm. It's not good for his house and he and Fiona have to spend hours cleaning which is not the most enjoyable activity.

He stands up and stretches, wincing as he hears cracks. He's been sitting in that chair, working on his hat, for hours and his muscles are so sore that he practically limps up to his room. It's pitch black outside and Jefferson guesses it's well past midnight. He walks up the stairs and tries to be as quiet as possible so he doesn't wake Fiona, who he assumes is in her room. He hobbles to his room and pulls off his clothes and changes into a pair of baggy sweatpants and a soft grey shirt, then he makes his way to the attached bathroom and brushes his teeth. As he does he looks at his reflection in the mirror but the man staring back at him is a total stranger. Dark shadows under his eyes, pale waxy skin and stubble on his chin. He groans and leans his head against the mirror.

Fucking hell he hates this world.

He returns to his room and is about to climb into bed when he hears a weird noise. It's not a scream but it's definitely not a happy noise. It must be coming from Fiona's room. She hasn't had any bad nightmares lately, but sometimes she has an occasional bad dream. He hears another whimper from her room and Jefferson sighs and then makes his way over to her room. He taps on the door and waits for a response. Nothing comes but another whimper. He opens the door and peers in, finding Fiona curled up on the bed. He walks in and finds a surprise; a piece of wood is in her hands. Just like the one she used back in the Enchanted Forest to turn into a bear. He leans forward and examines the wood, but then Fiona's eyes fly open. She screams and scrambles to the other side of the bed, but ends up falling off the bed. Jefferson squints and tries not to burst out laughing at her clumsiness.

"You okay?" he asks, still trying not to laugh. Fiona sits up and glares at him from over the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine thanks. Why are you here?" she asks him. Jefferson sits on the bed and grabs the piece of wood and examines it. It's soft, smoothed from years of use and covered in teeth marks. It definitely belonged to Preziosa.

"I heard you have a bad dream. Where did you find this?" he asks her and gestures to the wood. Fiona sits on the bed and wraps her arms around her legs, looking at him with tired eyes.

"I just found it today in the yard. I just liked it..." she says shamefully.

"No need to be embarrassed. You're talking to a man who makes a lot of hats," Jefferson laughs and looks at her, and is pleasantly surprised to find her smiling too. She has a nice smile.

"Why do you make so many hats anyway?" Fiona asks him. Jefferson bites his lip and tries to think of a quick response.

"Ah... It's just a habit." He says quickly. Fiona shrugs and doesn't push the answer.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" he asks her.

Fiona doesn't want to answer him. Her bad dream, for once, wasn't about the man who raped her. It was about Jefferson. She dreamt he was lost in the woods and he was crying... It was just a sad dream. But she sure as hell doesn't want to tell him that her dream was about him so she just makes up a lie.

"I dreamt about a drowned puppy." she says bluntly.

Jefferson raises his eyebrows and nods slowly. "That's... Um, sad." he tells her. She nods and takes the wood back from his hands. She rolls it over, relishing the smoothness of the wood. it relaxes her.

"I'm going to go to bed now, okay? But if you have another nightmare feel free to wake me up if you want to talk." he says. Fiona nods and smiles. He makes his way back to his room and crawls into his soft silk sheets. He glances at the blaring red numbers on the clock; it reads 2:42am. He'll need to be up by 7:40 to catch Grace before she gets on the bus. He closes his eyes and nestles deeper into the pillow and in moments he's asleep. However, it seems like a mere moment later when he's awoken from his sleep by a horrible nightmare. He dreamt that Grace was killed by Regina and that she made him watch his own daughters slaughter. He rolls out of bed and lands on the floor on his hands and knees. He's shaking and trembling, large tears rolling down his face. He can't get the horrible images out of his head and he begins sobbing uncontrollably and hysterically. He's still on his hands and knees when he feels her arms around him and hears her voice in his ear.

"It's okay. Calm down, it was just a nightmare." Fiona whispers as she hugs him tightly. He slumps against her chest, still trembling. Usually it's the other way around; him comforting her.

They don't move for nearly half an hour until Jefferson stops shaking. Fiona begins to stand up, but his hand grabs her and he stares at her with large, pleading eyes. "Don't leave... I need you." he chokes out. Fiona smiles and simply gestures for the bed. He climbs in and practically drops on the mattress. Fiona climbs in behind him and covers them both with a blanket. She has one arm draped over his shoulder and he's gripping her hand so tightly it hurts. But she doesn't tell him that, instead she moves closer until her body is pressed against his.

"I need you too." she whispers.

"I know," he responds and his grip on her hand tightens even more.


	7. Chapter 7

Jefferson grew to rely on Fiona more and more. When he would have his panic attacks, she would be right there to hold him. Mostly it was hugs, sometimes it was kisses. Only small ones, mere pecks, but they helped too. It made him feel loved again. And, when needed, he returned the actions.

It was all alright... Until the curse was broken.

Fiona was standing in the kitchen when it hit her. She was holding a cup of tea, but then her memories came flooding back and the mug slipped out of her hands and it exploded on the floor. Her mouth is open and she's staring at the counter. Jefferson was reading in the living room when he heard the crash and he jumped off the couch and went running over to her. She's trembling.

"Ugh... Fiona?" he asks carefully.

Her head snaps up and she stares at him with wild eyes. "You're the Mad Hatter. You're... I'm Preziosa! I remember everything!" she confesses. Her eyes are still wide and wild, and her hands are in her hair. She looks amazed. But then she looks at him and her face crumbles.

"That man who hurt me... He was my..." she can't bring herself to say it. She can't bring herself to say it was her father who had hurt her.

Jefferson frowns and nods. "Yes it was," he admits.

"You knew!?" Fiona says loudly.

Jefferson looks at her and nods again. Fiona gasps and grabs her hair once again. "You knew this entire time and didn't tell me!?" she screams at him.

"Did you really think you would have believed me? Oh, Fiona, you're actually a princess who turns into a bear and your father was crazy and wanted to marry you but in this world he just raped you and by the way my own story is in the fucking bookshelf." he says angrily and points to the bookshelf, where Alice in Wonderland is held.

"You knew everything this entire time, didn't you? You knew exactly who I was, who we all were!" she yells at him. She's angry now, angry he didn't tell her, angry that she is here and not home. She's just angry.

"Yes I did, but once again if I had tried to tell you, you wouldn't have believed me!" he yells back. He won't deal with any of this bullshit from her. It's not his fault!

"We need to go to town, I need to find Snow and the Prince." Fiona says and begins to make her way to the door. '

"I need to find Grace," Jefferson says. He always thought she would hate him for leaving, but he can't bear being away from his child anymore. Even if she doesn't hate her, he still needs to just see her and explain himself.

Fiona's standing at the door, her hand hovering over the knob. She looks back at Jefferson with a sad expression. "Is this it? You're going to find Grace and I will find my old friends... But-"

"For now, this is it. We need to figure out our old lives, Fiona. Everything is different now." he tells her. Fiona opens the door, but doesn't leave. Instead she runs to him and presses a kiss to his lips. This one isn't soft or gentle; it's fierce and passionate. Jefferson grabs the side of her face and pulls her closer. When they eventually pull away, Fiona hugs him.

"It doesn't have to be different." she whispers but then she runs out the door.

Jefferson reaches up and touches his lips. That was a kiss he hasn't experienced since Grace's mother. He begins walking outside to find his daughter. If she forgives him, he can bring her home again. And maybe, just maybe, there will be a She-bear with them too.


	8. Chapter 8

_**So this is it! Thanks so much to those of you who have literally commented on every single one of my chapters, you guys have motivated me to continue this and I just hope that this ending is satisfactory and you guys enjoy xo**_

Jefferson watches Grace run off her bus, her glossy blond hair bouncing off her shoulders. She's giggling because of something her friend has said. He's half hidden behind a telephone pole because he's so nervous. He's about to step out and call her name, but she suddenly looks backwards and their eyes meet. Grace freezes and stares at him with her mouth hanging open. Her brown eyes are so wide she reminds him of a deer.

"Grace...?" he says softly as he steps out from behind the pole.

"Daddy?!" she exclaims. Then her mouth breaks into a grin and she begins running towards him. In another moment she's in his arms and everything he's wanted is back in his life. Her arms are wrapped around his neck and her face is nestled into the crook of her neck. She smells nice, like strawberries. Like home.

"I missed you. I thought you would never come back for me," she says. He can feel wetness on his neck and he realizes she's crying. He immediately pulls back and he holds her by the shoulders and stares at his little girl who as tears in her eyes. He quickly wipes away the tears on her cheeks.

"Don't cry, baby. I love you and I will always come back to you. Always." he tells her firmly. Grace smiles so largely that it looks like the smile will simply fly off her face.

Jefferson's life is finally complete again.

* * *

He has her hand gripped tightly in his as they make their way back to his house. The people who had Grace understood why he took her back, because she was his after all. Grace even was able to bring her puppy, the little fluff ball named Rufus, home too. Grace was telling him all about her school and her friends and Jefferson was gladly listening silently. However, Rufus soon begin growling and the two humans come to a stop.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Grace asks as she kneels and rubs his forehead. Jefferson glances around and quickly finds the source of the dogs anger; a black bear standing on the forest line. His paternal instincts quick in and he quickly grabs Grace and pushes her behind him. The bears eyes widen and then he notices that there is a piece of wood in its mouth and he releases a relieved sigh.

The bear drops the piece of wood and Jefferson sees it morph back into Fiona, who's left on the ground on her hands and knees.

"Mother Superior gave me my magic back, but I forgot how sickening it is to turn for the first time." Fiona groans and eventually looks up, forcing a smile when she sees Grace who's poking her head around Jefferson's torso. Grace in turns smiles at her too.

"Grace, this is my friend Fiona. She does this weird thing where she turns into a bear," Jefferson jokes as he gestures to the girl who was finally able to pull herself up off the ground. Fiona smiles at the little girl and extends her hand and Grace quickly shakes it.

"I should leave you two to get settled. I'll see you later," Fiona says. She glances at Jefferson one last time before beginning to walk back to her own small cottage. It seems like years since she's been in there.

* * *

Grace and Jefferson quickly settled back into their place as family members. Jefferson would get up and make breakfast, Grace would make her bed and eat then go to school. She would come home and do her homework, then she and Jefferson would go on one of their adventures. They stayed away from the problems of the town and kept mostly to themselves. Fiona started working in the gardens again and soon she and Grace became fast friends. And soon Jefferson found himself to be craving for the three of them to be together... Like an actual family. His idea is solidified when Grace says she wants Fiona to stay with them too.

So one day he decides to do something about it.

When Grace leaves for school, he makes his way to the garden. Fiona is sitting besides the daisies, trying her best to pull out a stubborn weed that is choking out the beautiful white flower. She finally manages to rip out the huge weed, which is almost as thick as a carrot. Her actions cause a flurry of dirt to fly up and Jefferson has to duck to avoid it. Fiona looks up and giggles.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." she says as she tosses the weed into a pile of dead leaves. Jefferson sits beside her and observes her muddy clothes and skin; as she always is. She's smiling at him now.

"I want you to move back in with us," Jefferson tells her quietly.

"And why is that?" she says as she brushes a piece of hair back behind her ear. Jefferson catches her hand and holds it tightly.

"Because I need you. Because you helped me when no one else did and you never gave up on me even though you had bountiful opportunities to do it," He says. She's not looking at him but instead is focusing on the flowers. "And I know that you love me." he says softly. And he knows it's true. He's seen her little looks, the way she would kiss him for a little too long sometimes, the way she would hug him like he was her lifeline.

Fiona's hand is slack in his. She still stares at her flowers when speaks. "I do love you. But you don't want me around Grace... I'm broken, Jefferson. I'm tainted and a mess..." she says and quickly snatches her hand out of his and wraps her arms around her legs.

"Look at me, Fiona," he says quietly. When she doesn't turn to face him, he slips his hand under her chin and turns it for her. Her eyes are dark and wild, as always. "You've been hurt but you're not broken. And I love you." he finally admits. She stares at him but eventually smiles and throws her arms around his neck.

They were both completely broken and sad before they eventually decided to let each other in. They saved each other. Fiona saved Jefferson from going completely insane and he saved her from her sadness. And now, for once, they can have the family that Jefferson has always wanted and the one that Fiona deserved. When they told Grace that they were together, she nearly exploded with happiness at the idea of finally having a mother. She, of course, adored her father more than life itself but a girl always wants a mother in their life. And within the next few years, Grace also got a little sister named Violet, after her favorite flower.

One day Jefferson sits on the couch with Fiona beside him. He's reading while she drinks her tea, like they did so long ago. Grace is on the floor with baby Violet beside her. The baby has Jefferson's bright blue eyes and black hair, but Fiona's dainty features. Jefferson glances at the woman beside him, who's grinning at her daughters.

"I'm glad you stayed with me," he says quietly. She turns to him and then leans forwards and kisses his cheek.

"I am too." she whispers. Grace has Violet settled in the playpen and has now jumped on to her father, curling up and hugging him tightly. He hugs her back and breathes in her familiar, strawberry scent. He wonders how a mere few years ago his life was so horrible but now everything is okay in the world.

* * *

Not all fairy tales are good, and the stories of the Mad Hatter and Preziosa the She-Bear are proof of that. The Mad Hatter was supposed to be trapped in Wonderland making hats for eternity and Preziosa was supposed to always be in a constant battle with her father and spend her life running and hiding. However, they managed to beat their dark fates and chose to make their own happy ending.


End file.
